Sunday, December 30, 2012

Apology

To the 23 yr old gang rape victim, who first fought for her dignity and then her survival, who passed away today and to the countless other nameless and unheard of victims of gang rapes, rapes and crime against women - Sorry

WE let you all down, each one of us. We all as individuals and as a society owe them an apology, because the only fault of all of these Women was that they were born as a Woman in this morally bankrupt apathetic society called India.And the only apology that I can offer them is to begin to seek a change, not just in the government, judiciary, police, health care, but within each one of us and this society as a whole.Because WE have come to this kind of social degeneration because of our own apathy as individuals to each other and to the issues plaguing us as a society. And NO amount of social, police, judicial, medical or electoral reforms are going to bring about a change unless WE as individuals change our myopic outlook towards our responsibilities, unless WE give up this attitude of 'OUT OF NEWS, OUT OF MIND', unless WE awaken the empathy that is dying within us. We are waiting for some institution, somebody to take the initiative to bring the change which has to start from within each of us. That change will not come by playing the blame game that the government or the police or the judiciary are not doing their job, that CHANGE will come only when we become that change.Let us not just stand as mute spectator when a woman or for that matter any fellow citizen is being harassed or bullied. Let us agree not to encourage corruption. Let us agree to respect and protect not just our women, but our children and our elders. Let us agree to Vote in the elections that are coming ahead, in an unbiased manner candidates who deserve to be elected and let that be our answer to the Inefficient government. Let us agree each one of us to do our duty sincerely not just as professionals, but also towards our environment, our families and our society.

Let us agree to be better human beings and to help nurture a better society for all of us to live in. I am promising myself today that I am going to seek a change in the whole process of the way these cases are investigated, conducted and the ordeal that these victims have to go. I realized that a few months back when I was helping my Sister-in-law in her thesis on the treatment of gang rape victims in India. I had decided to do something about this then, but then I let the din of everyday life and work take over, but this time I am not going to give up. This my way of not letting the loss of the life of that child go in vain.

2 comments:

Nice post. I wrote a similar one last night http://danishctc.tumblr.com/post/39082351369/an-apology-to-the-delhi-girl

but the perspective differs,being a male i feel far more guilty. It is a collective failure, we should first ensure that apart from exemplary punishment, we should see to it that no gender-based discrimination in any form does not go unpunished.

Being Me

I am a nomad, a wanderer, at a constant war with myself, out in search for an understanding about myself. I am observing, learning and growing with every passing day that I spend living just as a seed grows up into a plant. It's a process which I enjoy at times and at times endure. It's a journey the destination of which I do not know, but I walk along the road doing my bit, enjoying the experience while leaving behind my foot prints on the sands of time.